Fincantieri group company Vard has secured a new contract for the design and construction of a stern trawler for Deutsche Fischfang-Union (DFFU) of Germany.
The stern trawler has been developed by VARD in close cooperation with DFFU. The new vessel will be the first trawler of Vard’s own design sold to Germany. The Vard 8 03 trawler design is developed to meet the latest demands for fish health management, efficiency, and environmentally friendly operations. With a high focus on quality of catch, safety of crew, and sustainable operations, the vessel incorporates efficient technology to bring the catch ashore with minimum environmental footprint.
DFFU says that the new vessel will allow 100 % of the catch to be brought to shore, enabling the utilisation of the whole catch for increased value creation. It will have a length of 84m and a beam of 16.7m. Accommodation is arranged for 34 people on board.
Fredrik Mordal Hessen, GM Offshore and Specialised business, Vard, said: “We welcome Deutche Fischfang-Union and their team to Vard and look forward to develop and build this vessel. Vard’s mission and strategy is to enable sustainable maritime operations together with our customers. This is an advanced trawler with tailor-made technological solutions to meet the customers requirement for sustainable operations and healthy fish. Vard’s specialists within fishery, ship design and technology have joined forces to create the best vessel possible for the customer, and we look forward to cooperating throughout the building process.”
The vessel will be arranged for triple trawling. To secure high quality of the fish, all the catch will be processed onboard, packed, and stored in freezers or refrigerators and the biomass is stored in specialised ensilage tanks, before unloading at the harbour. The trawler will be equipped with Vard’s catch handling solutions, with a live fish tank, an advanced fish processing factory, and high cargo capacity for refrigerated and frozen fish. The cargo capacity for frozen products will be approximately 2 200m3 divided over two decks, in addition to ensilage capacity of approximately 540m3. Total fuel oil capacity is approximately 860m3.
Vard Electro will deliver a complete SeaQ package, encompassing intuitive bridge, power, and automation solutions. The SeaQ Integrated Bridge integrates the maritime systems easily and perceptively, focusing on optimisation of the operator’s workstation allowing storing of own preferred setup, reducing workload, and simplifying operation and safety. The SeaQ package will include SeaQ Micro Grid, SeaQ Energy Storage System, SeaQ Power Management System, SeaQ Integrated Automation System, and SeaQ Green Pilot. With these combined, the vessel operator is given a full performance overview and can easily manage operations with the aim of power optimisation for reduced emissions.
Delivery of the vessel is scheduled from Vard Brattvaag in Norway in Q1 2024. The hull will be built at Vard Braila in Romania.
Torgeir D Folland, Vard SVP Sales & Marketing, said: “We appreciate that Deutsche Fischfang-Union has selected Vard to design and build their highly technological and sustainable trawler. This contract proves our value chain’s competitiveness and will provide activity at several entities within Vard’s network of specialized facilities. Building fishing vessels and trawlers are an essential part of Vard’s history and core business, and the new assignment will utilise and develop our broad knowledge and competence within the field.”
